Expiration Date
by shadowyLearner
Summary: Aradia and Karkat are reapers - collectors of the dead. They don't know if there are rules, or if there are even others. If there are, they don't know why they haven't reached out. All they know is their duty.
1. Chapter 1

**I adore the idea of Aradia and Karkat as partners for some reason, and since they both connect themself to the dead in some way, this idea was born.**

**Also, my love for Arakar may have helped.**

**At any rate, this is going to be chaptered, but there's not really going to be a plot. Instead, there are going to be events that connect and take place in the same universe. Eventual mentions of Aradia/Karkat are planned.**

**Warnings for suicide mention and death mention for this chapter.**

**~shadowyLearner**

* * *

Aradia Megido remembers exactly how she died, but the details are fuzzy when it comes to how she became a reaper. She doesn't know if there are actually rules, or if she and Karkat are the only two now. She doesn't know if there are others and, if so, why they haven't reached out to either the Megido or Vantas. All she knows is what reapers are supposed to do – which is collect souls and drop them into the afterlife – and that everything turns out alright. Maybe not in life, but then in death. Aradia also knows that Karkat's always been a tad different, especially from her. Then again, it's said that opposites complete each other, so maybe that's why the two had such a great partnership.

The reaper was on this train of thought when Karkat had informed her of a nearby suicide and of a soul to go pick up.

"You're better with those than I am," Karkat had explained. "You know how to comfort them."

This was true. Karkat preferred to collect the souls of those who were expecting death, those more cold-hearted, the impassive. It was his taste, Aradia decided, and she was better fit for the feeling, the emotional. They completed each other like that.

When Aradia arrived at the body, she was in a hospital. The spirit, a young girl, was crying in the corner of the room, obviously frightened and upset. Aradia had approached the girl cautiously and, after a short conversation, learned she had gone by way of overdose. Aradia had comforted the girl and cut the soul down with her scythe. She didn't have to use a scythe or even cut down the soul – just collect it somehow – but it was symbolic, and anyway, that's what people expected, right? No one liked to die or be struck, but it was a great deal more comforting when it matched your fairytales.

The pieces of the girl's soul were sucked into the weapon's material. After the deed was done and with no danger nearby, the scythe's handle shrunk to resemble a sickle. Aradia deposited it into the shadowy "magic" of the reaper's cloak (it certainly wasn't magic, but there wasn't really a better way to describe it) and headed back.

About halfway to the dimensional pocket she and Karkat shared, her sickle started vibrating violently against her waist. As the reaper drew her weapon, its handle extended. She didn't even have time to look for the threat when a voice called out.

"What's that? It looks interesting!"

The voice was feminine and just to Aradia's left. Its source bounced over energetically. Standing in front of Aradia was what seemed to be a redheaded girl, eyes gleaming a bright bluish green. The girl's hands reached for the scythe's handle, but Aradia drew it back.

"Is it a scythe? What're you doing with one?" asked the girl eagerly.

Aradia held it out in front of her but kept it out of the girl's reach. "Yes, it's a scythe. It's my reaper weapon – or collector, whatever you prefer." Aradia smiled. "And who would you be?"

The girl smirked. "_I_ am Terezi Pyrope, justice in training and dragon expert extraordinaire! But" – here the girl hesitated – "what's a reaper?"

Aradia blinked once, dumbfounded. If this person wasn't a reaper, then how did she survive? Was her soul somehow looked over? What sort of sloppy, dishonorable reaper would let one just drift?

"Um." Aradia found her words. "A reaper is a sort of ghost that collects souls and takes them to the afterlife. Are you not one?" She felt she already knew the answer, but she asked it anyway.

"Nope! I've heard of them, but only in stories and stuff," Terezi answered. Sudden realization seemed to sink in, and the girl's grin faded. "So I really am dead?" Her voice was somber.

The reaper turned gentle. "Yes, I believe so. I've never heard of anyone who was able to see us otherwise. Did you know?"

Terezi Pyrope hesitated but answered slowly. "I've suspected it for a while now, but I didn't want it to believe it." She paused again. "So you were once alive?"

Aradia was once again taken by surprise. "Yes, I was, but I died before this modern era. I actually lived in Europe." She paused. "It seems my accent has faded."

"So how'd you get over here? And become a reaper?"

"Drifted, but more importantly, how did you get out _here_?" Aradia asked, gesturing to the forest around them.

Terezi's smile returned but this time was bitter, reflecting her tone. "Hanged for fun."

Aradia wanted to ask _how_ because people normally didn't just trip and fall into a noose, but she decided now was not the time.

"But answer my question," Terezi said, "about how you became a reaper."

"I don't know how it happened," she admitted. "I was alive, and then I woke up, and the next thing I knew I was out collecting souls. Worked in my home country, worked on the seas, and then here I am, in America."

"Do you think I could be one?"

The reaper shrugged, becoming more and more used to the unusual. "I don't know, but you probably could. Find a seller, start off with a basic weapon, and work your way up."

Terezi eyed the scythe Aradia was still holding. "Reapers work with more than just a scythe?"

"They can work with anything they get their hands on, if it's enchanted correctly," Aradia answered.

"One more question."

"Fire away!"

"Could you help me get started?"

Aradia did not know what to say. She was a natural reaper and had been chosen specifically for the job. Could Terezi really just waltz up to a dealer and get started? What would Karkat think about Terezi, and what would he do if Aradia came home with her? But surely Terezi deserved a chance? Who knew how many reapers were left? Aradia didn't know the right answer or if there was one, but what came out instead was:

"Sure, I don't mind."

And that was the story of how Aradia Megido met Terezi Pyrope.


	2. Chapter 2

Karkat Vantas liked to pretend that he didn't break under pressure, that he kept his composure. (He knew this was a lie, but he ignored this.) Sometimes, he was so convinced there was a placebo effect where he truly remained calm. This was not one of those times.

"What the fuck do you mean you found her wandering?" he hissed quietly. It took all of his self-control to keep him from yelling. Terezi Pryope was, after all, sitting in just the next room over. "Why didn't you just cut her down and save her?"

Aradia had dealt with Karkat's temper so often it rarely surprised her, and her voice was calm as she spoke. "Yes, I did find her drifting, but Karkat, she wants to be a reaper, and you know we need more of those around here."

"We don't even know what qualifies someone to become one! Both of us were specifically chosen! We had a bag or whatever from the start! We never drifted!" Karkat continued emphatically.

"Karkat, calm down," Aradia spoke soothingly. "We're both wonderful as reapers, and you know that. But both of us reap differently; we prefer different things, different people. I think it'd be wonderful to give Terezi a mixture of our skills."

"Here's the problem, Aradia," the male answered. "You may be a good teacher, I wouldn't know, but I, sure as hell, am not, so how the fuck do you expect me to pass on my skills?"

_Don't worry, Karkat, no one will be able to match you for longest time without breathing_, Aradia thought. "Karkat, we'll work at it. You don't even have to train her if you don't want to. It's up to you, but please, just be civil to her, alright? She was _hanged_ – for fun!"

Karkat had opened his mouth to say something but fell silent when Aradia mentioned Terezi's death. It took the reaper a moment to find his words, and even then they came out strangled. "Hanged? How does someone get hanged for fun? No one looks at a noose and goes, 'Oh hey, I bet this'll be fun!' It doesn't matter who you're with."

Aradia shook her head. "I don't know, Karkat, I didn't ask. It wasn't the right time. Plus, we've each had our share of unsolved murders. Terezi's just different, but then so are we," Aradia said with a slight giggle.

The glare she was met was all daggers. "I'd be dead if looks could kill," Aradia sighed. After a pause, she added, "I'd be dead again. Anyway, come on out and meet our new housemate."

Karkat sighed, obviously reluctant but resigned. "Alright."

Terezi Pyrope certainly was different. She didn't seem frightened or upset that she was dead. No, if anything, she was intrigued. Question after question flew from her lips:

"What do reapers actually do?" (Aradia gave her best explanation, but confusion was still painted on the girl's face.)

"Are there others? There must be." (Karkat answered before Aradia could, scoffing that if there were "they don't give a fuck about us.")

"Do you have a scythe, too?" (Karkat had shown her his sickle and how its handle extended to create a scythe-like weapon.)

"How do I become a reaper?" (Karkat had begun to tell Terezi that neither of the reapers knew, but Aradia cut him off with "Like I said, it's not that hard," which earned her a disapproving glare from Karkat.)

Eventually, Terezi asked if there was a bed she could sleep in.

"Ghosts don't need to sleep," Karkat replied.

"I kept sleeping – or tried to – after I died. Before I knew I was gone," Terezi explained.

_How does someone slip a rope over their neck, wake up, and not realize they're dead?_ Karkat wondered. _What kind of person is that stupid?_

"I believe there are two upstairs, left by someone who lived here before us," Aradia explained helpfully. "I'll lead you to them."

There was a faint sound of footsteps as Aradia led Terezi up the stairs. Karkat, sitting in an armchair, played over the house's blueprint in his mind.

_To the right, down the hall, third door on the left,_ he thought, visualizing the scene.

The room was small but held two beds. They had been slept in maybe once, when Karkat first moved into the house, with Aradia as his newly-found partner.

_ I kept sleeping – or tried to – after I died. Before I knew I was gone._

Karkat could relate to Terezi. He had tried to hold onto a shred of his former life – who knows why, his life had sucked – and gave sleeping a chance. But while the endless nights of tossing and turning mirrored his life, it held an eerie familiarity, one that disturbed Karkat to his core. Every once in a while since then, he had tried to nod off, when he was sure the exhaustion of reaping would overcome him, but the release of sleep never came, not once. Now he had given up entirely on getting any rest. Sleep was for the living, not for the dead.

Karkat was lost in thought when Aradia came back down the steps. He didn't notice her at first, and he jumped at the sound of her voice.

"So what do you think of her?" she asked, plopping down in the chair opposite her partner.

"Absolutely annoying, that's what," Karkat replied.

"I can see it in your eyes – you like her," Aradia argued.

"I don't know what you see in my eyes, Aradia, but it's certainly not that."

Her voice gentle, Aradia added, "Terezi tried to stay alive, Karkat. So did you."

"We all did," Karkat retorted.

"I didn't. I knew I was dead, and I moved on."

"You're different, Aradia," Karkat continued. "You were psychic – you heard the dead!"

"You're special, too, Karkat, although I can't quite put my metaphorical finger on it." A smile grew on Aradia's face. "I guess we fit together that way, huh?"

Karkat's felt his face flush. When he spoke, his voice was oddly quiet. "Don't go all mushy on me. You know I can't stand it."

"On the contrary," laughed his partner, "I've found you to be quiet the cheese."

"Shut up," snarled Karkat.

Aradia laughed. The chimes of her happiness echoed throughout the house.

And that was the story of how Karkat Vantas met Terezi Pyrope.


	3. Chapter 3

**While I try to find the motivation to work on my other fanfiction, have an update.**

* * *

When Terezi had first arrived at Aradia's house, it had not seemed to be that big. If anything, it was of normal size. When Aradia had led her to a bed that night, the way seemed easy and the house small. She quickly learned this was not the case.

The next morning, while Karkat was away on business, Aradia had offered to give Terezi a tour of the house. It began in a living room, which itself was decently sized. Hallways led off to either side, and a staircase was opposite the door.

"I don't remember this," Terezi said.

"Hm? Oh, well, there are other ways to get in, and I swear sometimes this house has a mind of its own," Aradia replied.

The reaper explained the rooms as they went – the never-ending rooms and winding hallways. How could this manor ever seemed small!

The left hallway led to the kitchen, storerooms, and the dining room. The right led to a utility room and a drawing room. Upstairs were the bed and guestrooms, as well as two offices. There was a bathroom upstairs and one downstairs. Aradia pointed out the stairs to the attic and to the basement, walking past them with ease.

The enormity of the house astonished Terezi.

"How do you expect me to find my way around?" she asked, when they returned to the sitting room.

"It's really not that big," Aradia argued, shrugging. "You'll get used to it eventually." She paused then continued, "Do you still want to be a reaper? You'll hear a lot of sob stories. Sure you're up for it?"

"Of course! I am Terezi Pyrope, after all!" exclaimed Terezi.

"Justice in training and dragon expert extraordinaire?"

Terezi smirked. "And soon-to-be reaper!"

* * *

The first order of business was to find Terezi Pyrope a weapon, but both Karkat and Aradia had a weapon from the start. They had both only heard of dealers before through talkative souls who had wandered before being collected. This was also how they first heard of other reapers, although they'd never found one before. Apparently, dealers, or sellers, were reapers that had retired but not passed on, selling whatever weapon or fake remedy they had to the dead in exchange for worldly possessions.

It was not until a week of tedious searching and collecting that Karkat caught wind of a dealer in what the spirit merely called the "bad side of town," and the ghost indeed had a sword with them. It was a dirty, broken old thing, which didn't give Karkat much hope, but what did they have to lose?

After saving the soul and depositing it in a pocket, Karkat reported back.

"I say we both go," Aradia had responded. "Sellers don't exactly sound reliable. We'll reap along the way if we have to."

Karkat grumbled but agreed.

* * *

That was how they ended up opposite a decrepit building with graffiti painted on its walls, with Karkat's weapon vibrating in its sheath.

_Why didn't they go off the radar?_ Karkat wondered. _What kind of idiot is this guy? _He prodded Terezi in the back. "You go in first. They'll love to prey on a wandering soul."

She glared at him. "You make it sound like they'll try to kill me."

"Don't worry, we'll be right behind you," Aradia promised. "We can cloak our spirits. They shouldn't know we're there unless we show ourselves."

Terezi knew she had no choice. If she backed out now, they'd think she was a wimp, and she wasn't having that.

"Alright," she finally conceded.

On shaky legs, she headed in. She passed right through the door, which surprised her for a moment, and then she continued.

"Is anyone here?" she asked hesitantly, forcing her voice steady. Maybe it wasn't what a normal just-deceased would do, but it's what she would do. She gripped the necklace in her pocket tightly. Aradia had given it to her for trade, claiming that it held no value for her and that it would probably trade nicely with the dealers. "Damn," she added, when there was no reply.

Then there was a flicker of movement ahead, and she called out, "Who're you?"

The flash stopped, and Terezi could just make out the outline of a ghost.

"You can see us?"

Terezi jumped – the voice did not come from this spirit but from behind her. She spun around, ready to defend herself. There was a trace of neither Aradia nor Karkat.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" said the spirit, a dark-skinned girl who probably died around Terezi's age. "I didn't mean to scare you! You just seem so alive." She was dressed in a black dress and had rather large rounded glasses.

Terezi paused in confusion, then argued bitterly, "What? I'm dead."

The girl shook her head. "Of course you are. You just seem so calm compared to most of our customers."

Terezi shrugged and asked instead, "Can you help me?"

"Of course we can." Another soul came into view. Terezi assumed this was the spirit she'd seen earlier, unless there were more hidden here. This girl was clad in a golden dress instead. Her eyes glittered mischievously. "We have guns, swords, remedies – whatever your heart desires."

"What are your names?"

"Names aren't needed," she replied. "Things are different in the spirit world than the living."

Terezi wondered what her reapers thought of this situation. Would Aradia give these two a chance? Would Karkat insist for their names?

"Alright. Show me 'em," she demanded.

"What do you want?" asked the spirit in black. "We'll get it for you."

"Isn't that the opposite of how stores work?"

"Spirit world."

"Show me," she insisted. "I don't need your names or your shitty histories. I just want to see if I'm getting a good deal. And" – Terezi held up the necklace – "I'm sure you want my business."

The two souls hesitated. Finally, the golden one said, "Come with me to the back."

She led Terezi through a crumbling doorway. The door lay in ruins nearby.

"Excuse the mess. The previous tenants were not so orderly."

One more door which still had hinges later, and they were in a stuffy, dim room. There was a table, and on it was arranged a variety of goods.

"Whatever you want."

* * *

Aradia had poked her head through the wall, but there simply wasn't anywhere for her and Karkat to hide. There was, of course, the table, but there was no way they could get under it without being spotted. The two of them instead scattered across the building, Aradia hiding near the doorway, and Karkat back in the main room.

Terezi had done wonderfully with the dealers, but this didn't stifle Aradia's worry. None of them had any experience with sellers, and who knew what could happen?

_She's strong. Don't worry_, she told herself.

It seemed, however, there was no cause for worry. A moment later, Terezi stepped from the room, complete with a reaper's cloak that just needed a washing, and on her side were two cylinders, their lethality hidden.

A smile was on her face, and something twinkled in her eyes – perhaps hope or even happiness?

The golden-robed spirit stepped out behind her. "It was a pleasure," she said, smiling at her client.

"I'll have to recommend you," Terezi joked, "if I come across anyone."

"My partner and I are pleased to hear that. We have an appalling reputation. It would be wonderful if you could assist in helping us fix this."

"But of course."

* * *

"What are they?" Karkat finally asked when they arrived safely home, referring to the cylinders hanging at Terezi's side.

"You'll see." It was all she would offer.

* * *

Terezi's first job came in the middle of the night, if their pocket even had such. The call came to her immediately. She knew it was a murder, and she knew where the soul was now.

"It's time for your first lesson," Aradia called as Terezi descended the stairs to the living room.

"Where's Karkat?" she asked, noticing a distinct lack of sarcasm in the room.

"Out on another job," she replied.

* * *

Aradia explained how most jobs went on the way. "Just listen to their story, then promise them a better life, and use your weapon."

When they arrived at the house, the door had been haphazardly left open.

"What a stupid murderer," Terezi remarked.

"Maybe it was accidental," Aradia suggested. "Too surprised at themself and ran away. Most likely will end up caught."

"Just stupid," Terezi muttered. Something was telling her the murder was planned but wasn't thought out.

The spirit was found standing over his dead body, just staring at it. He didn't look up when the duo entered. He was fully focused on his corpse.

"Be gentle," Aradia warned, staying by the door.

Terezi walked over to the man. At a loss for anything else, she said softly, "It's time to go."

The man lifted his head and stared at her, as if he had just noticed her. His eyes flickered over to Aradia, then back again. "What do you know?" he asked, his voice low. "What do you know?"

Terezi glanced at the body. Stab wounds. She forced her eyes away. On the a table was a bloody pair of scissors.

_Just listen to their story, then promise them a better life, and use your weapon._

"I promise you your killer will be caught, but-"

"They can't catch him without me!"

_He left the door open of all things. Of course they can._

"The door was open, your body is in plain sight, and the murder weapon's right on the table," she observed. "I promise you, you'll be avenged."

"By who?" The man's eyes were wild, and he was close to snapping. "I have no family!"

"Trust-"

"I had trust, and this is what fucking happened!" The man stepped closer to Terezi. "Don't you fucking tell me to trust you! And who the hell are you?"

Terezi saw Aradia move out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't fail her. It was time for her last resort.

"I died, too, so I don't want to hear your shitty excuses!"

The man stopped. When he spoke again, his voice was low and threatening.

"So you're a ghost, huh, or what? Come to drag me down to hell with you?" the man accused.

"Of course not!" Terezi grabbed her weapons. Blades had extended out of the ends of them. She might have to force him.

"And what're those? Want to stab me again?" The man lunged at her, but she threw her daggers in defense, and they hit their mark. The man froze in place. His picture broke and fell into a blade, which absorbed the fragments.

"Those are always the shittiest to do."

Terezi jumped at the sound of Karkat's voice and turned.

"What are you doing here? Don't you have a job to do?" she asked.

Standing in the doorway, he withdrew his sickle. "Thought I'd show you how to release them."

"He'll act like he doesn't care, but he does," Aradia broke in. "More than he'd like you to know."

Karkat glared at Aradia. "Maybe I'll just let her dick around for a while now."

"I could show her, too," Aradia pointed out.

"She seems to work best by watching and doing," Karkat replied.

And that was the story of how Terezi Pyrope realized she had a future.


End file.
